Colorado sent its pragmatic, centrist former Gov. John Hickenlooper off to the official presidential campaign trail Thursday — but not before the normally affable Democrat gave a speech contrasting himself with the current president and outright bashing him.

Hickenlooper quoted author Wallace Wegner's description of Colorado as a "home of hope" before calling the country's current state one of "a heaving crisis, years in the making, spawned by dysfunctional politics and defined, above all, by this president."

It took less than two minutes for Hickenlooper to name President Donald Trump specifically.

"Donald Trump is alienating our allies, ripping away our health care, endangering our planet and destroying our democracy," Hickenlooper told a crowd of about 5,000 gathered at Denver's Civic Center Park, as estimated by the campaign. "... It's more than just the tweet storms. Real people are being hurt. He closed down the government. Hate crimes are up. He's forcibly taking kids from their parents. Out here in Colorado, we call that kidnapping."

Hickenlooper has been all but running for president since before he left office in January. He formed his political action committee, Giddy Up, in September. He's been touring early primary states Iowa and New Hampshire since October. He heads back to Iowa again Friday, according to the campaign.

“I understand I’m clearly not the first person in this race or the most well-known person in this race,” Hickenlooper said. “But let me tell you, at four syllables and 12 letters, ‘Hickenlooper’ is now the biggest name in the race.”

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Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper speaks during his presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Mother Jordan Gingrass holds four-year-old Sumaya at the end of the John Hickenlooper presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

A rally participant holds up a sign during the John Hickenlooper presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Rally participants sit around the outside of the amphitheater at the John Hickenlooper presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper speaks during his presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

A rally participant takes video of the stage at the John Hickenlooper presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper smiles before he begins his speech at his presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper poses with a rally participant after his presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Rally participants record the moment on their phones as former Denver mayor Wellington Webb welcomes former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper on stage at his presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

A rally participant sports a beanie with the Colorado flag at the John Hickenlooper presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Former Colorado governor and current 2020 election year Presidential candidate John Hickenlooper shares a moment with Nathaniel Rateliff of the band Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats during HIckenlooper's presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Mother Jordan Gingrass holds four-year-old Sumaya at the end of the John Hickenlooper presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

A rally participant hold up their sign during former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper's presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

A stage hand sets up for Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats to perform at former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper's presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

The City and County Building is lit up during former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper's presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Denver resident and soul singer SuCh performs at the John Hickenlooper presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Director of the office of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Luis Benitez speaks at the John Hickenlooper presidential campaign kick-off rally on Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Greek Ampitheatre in Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

Mike Filion, a Denver resident, said he voted for Hickenlooper four times already — twice for mayor and twice for governor — and would eagerly vote for him a fifth time. Hickenlooper is likable, effective and able to reach across the aisle, as evidenced by his work with Ohio’s former Republican Gov. John Kasich, Filion said. He predicted it will help him stand out in the crowd.

“We need a new face,” Filion said. “Don’t get me wrong, I think the world of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, but we need a new face.”

When Hickenlooper touted his work as a small-business owner who built brewpubs across the Midwest — “It doesn’t matter how many times you say, ‘You’re fired,’” Hickenlooper said, taking a shot at Trump’s reality TV show catchphrase. “It’s about how many times you say, ‘You’re hired.’” — Filion gave an encouraging, “You tell him, John!” from an upper deck of the pavilion.

Hickenlooper went from a laid-off geologist in 1986 to a brewpub owner credited with helping to revitalize Denver's lower downtown area. He used that clout in a successful run for mayor of Denver in 2003 and handily won the governorship in 2010 amid a divided conservative movement in Colorado.

The aftermath of the Aurora movie theater massacre defined his first term in office, and a fight in the state legislature to limit the size of gun magazines and strengthen background checks led to the recall of fellow Democrats in the state Senate.

In his Thursday night speech, he touted the work as saving lives. One of his introductory speakers was state Rep. Tom Sullivan, whose son was murdered in the Aurora shooting.

Hickenlooper won re-election in 2014 despite the national mood favoring Republicans, albeit more narrowly than in 2010. It was the same election where Colorado voters pulled Democrat Mark Udall back from the U.S. Senate in favor of Republican Cory Gardner.

Oil and gas development boomed in Colorado during Hickenlooper's tenure — a special irony because the industry's mid-'80s bust is what started his unlikely path in politics — and often pitted him against environmental interests in his party. He famously, if apocryphally, drank the fluid used in hydraulic fracturing to prove its safety.

Polis, now Colorado's governor and a self-made millionaire, was backing a ballot initiative requiring drilling rigs be 2,000 feet away from homes and another that gave local communities more say in regulating the industry. Industry supporters said it would all but kill energy development in the Centennial State. Hickenlooper navigated the political headwinds and crafted a compromise that muted a battle that had promised historic spending while trying to sway voters in either direction.

Hickenlooper on Thursday highlighted the methane capture regulations that passed during his tenure. It’s the same as removing more than 300,000 cars from road annually, he said.

“(It took) more than a year of negotiations, but in the end, oil and gas agreed to pay for it,” Hickenlooper said.

He pledged his presidency would “bring the same relentless innovation we used to land on the moon to save our planet” by rejoining the Paris climate accord agreement and setting even more aggressive green energy goals.

While Hickenlooper touted bringing industry and environmentalists to the table, his efforts left some voters with a bad taste in their mouths. A few dozen anti-fracking protesters stood outside the pavilion on Thursday, booing Hickenlooper and displaying a giant, mocking portrait of him.

"John Hickenlooper isn't exactly known for being the bravest politician, but opening a presidential campaign without a clear message on border security tells you all you need to know about our former governor," Colorado Republican Committee Chairman Jeff Hays said in a statement. "The facts are clear, walls work. 2020 Democrats like Hickenlooper should stop playing political games with our national security and start listening to the concerns of our men and women on the border. Enough is enough."